Folding box



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

No Model.)

A. R. HBSON.

FGLDING BOX.

[Patented Dec. 19, 1893.

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(No Model.)A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. R. HIBSON.

FOLDING BOX.

No. 511,078. Patented Deo. 19, 1893.

t box `thecontents from within.

y UNITED STATES 'i PATENT trice.

ALBERT R. HIBSON, OFn BROOKLYN, ANEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONALFOLDING BOX AND PAPER COMPANY, OF EAST ORANGE,

NEV JERSEY.

FoLDlNc Box.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,078, dated December19, 1893.

Application filed March 23, 1893. Serial No. 467.260,. (No model.)

To al?, whom it may concern: u

e it known that I, ALBERT R. HIBsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York,`

and the accompanying drawings, forming apart of the same.

Folding boxes made from paper or similar dat or sheet material haveheretofore had the flaps for closing their ends and the locking devicesfor securing their free parts, so constructed as to be capable ofl readymanipulation by the fingers of the user in setting up the parts inhollow or box form with one end closed ready to receive the contents,or, when filled for use, to have the other end or mouth closed tocomplete the package, and also' so as to enable the fastening at one orbot-h of its closed ends to be as readily detached to open the box. Inconsequence of these fastening means being readily moved into orarranged in the sti-called locked condition, and as readily detached ordisconnected, such fastening means are liable to become unfastened by amovement due to the handling of the package or from outward pressurefrom the contents Within the box during its transport. Thus ordinarytucks entered Within the box body alongside one of its sides, may fromexternal engagement be drawn out, or from internal pressure be forcedout, so as to open the box and release its contents; so also' lockingtongues that engage in lateralslots or ,pockets provided in the flaps orsdesof the are liable to be yWithdrawn from such y slots or pockets by amovement of the tongues through outside contact or by reason of thebulging of the box end due to the pressure of In view of this liabilityof derangement of the parts or detachinent of externally exposed lockingdevices, and consequent release of the contents,

it has become almost a trade necessity, because the contents of `suchboxes are either heavy, fragile or multiplex, to provide such boxes withadequate means for holding their contents securely for carriage by thepurchaser, which is usually accomplished either by inclosing such boxWithin an ordinary wrapping sheet, or by fastening it with a bindingcord, and one or the other is done with most of the box packages soldand delivered at retail to a customer.

The present invention consists in a box Whose closing flaps at one orboth ends are secured in place by fastenings integral with the vmaterialcomposing ther box, but so disposed so asto form an internal lock thatwill securely hold the parts in position against displacementby anyWeight or pressure, which the material composing the box will resistWithout tearing, and which presents no external part the movement ofwhich Will release the fastening. Y

In the accompanying drawings practical modes of carrying this inventioninto effect l are fully illustrated.

Figure 1 is aplan View of a flat blank composing a box embodying thisinvention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of such a box with the bottomend closed and the top end open. Fig.. 3 is a like View with the lasttiap of the top end still open but with its locking wings bent into theposition which they have when introduced into their receiving recess.Fig.

et is a side elevation of the box with the outer Hap partially closed,and its extension entered into its receiving slot and carried nearlyinto its iinal position. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the end of the boxWith the parts in the same position as in Fig. ll, but with the outerflap partially removed to better illustrate the relation of the part-s.Figol is an inside view of the box taken on the section line of Fig. 4.showing the relation of the locking Wings to the sides of the box.

the section line of Fig. 8, and particularly shows the locking relationof the Wings and closing flaps. Fig. 8 is a perspective vievvof theclosed and locked box within which the locking wings stand as in' Figs.6 and 7, and this view particularly illustrates a'meansfor with the flapW. Fig. 9 is a perspectivel view of a modification of the lockingdevices.

Fig. 7 is a sectional Vele-VY vation through the locked end of the boxon unlocking said wings fromtheir engagement A description ot' thespecific embodiments of this invention illustrated by Fig. i will now begiven. It must be understood that such figure illustrates two forms ofthe lock, one at each end, and that the box may be composed of a blankprovided with either form at both ends, or as shown; also that the boxmay be closed at both ends, or, be open at one end like a cup and haveits opposite end which would then be the bottom, closed by the improvedlock. Vith this understanding I will first describe a box provided witha lock of one construction and then with a lock of the otherconstruction. As is common in this art, the material used for the makingof the box may be paper, card-board, straw-board,` combined cloth andpaper, or any thin, tlat and cheap material suited to the purpose, fromwhich the blanks will be cut, creased or scored by any of the means inuse for thatpurpose. Theblank may beot such dimensions as to produce arectangular box in its nished form or one more or less oblong consideredtransverselyor longitudinally, and of any height suited to the characterof the material which it is to contain. The blank illustrated consistsot' a flat sheet of material having the general configurationillustrated, cut or incised on the full lines and creased or scored onthe dotted lines, whereby are provided the four sides, F, A, S, T of itsbody, one7 T, being supplied with a projection 10 that laps upon theside F to form the seam uniting said body in flat tubular form, whichbody is capable of being brought into hollow tubular form by bending:its parts upon the creased or scored lines 13, 14, 15, 16. At one endthe side F is provided with a Hap N united thereto by the creased orscored line 17 and at the other end with a iap L united thereto by thecreased orscored line 18; the side A is provided at one end with a flapE attached thereto by the creased or scored line 19 and at its other endwith a ap O attached thereto by the creased or scored line 20; the sideS is provided at one end with a flap W united thereto by the creased orscored line 21 and at its other end with a iap C attached thereto by thecreased or scored line 22; and the side 'i isprovided at one end with aflap K attached thereto by the creased or scored line 23. The flap E isprovided with an extension 3 united thereto by the creased or scoredline 24 which extension carries at each of its sides a projecting Wing2, 4 united to it by the creased or scored lines 27, 28; and the flap Ois provided with an extension 6 united thereto by the creased-or scoredline 25 and carries as each end projecting wings 5, 7, united to it bycreased or scored lines 29, 30. Assuming now thaty the flap K is omittedand that the flap O is provided with an extension that is a duplicate ofthe extension 3 and its Wings 2, 4, we shall have a blank the structureof which is such. as to form a box with opposite ends closed and securedby this improved lock.

Such a blank having its sides F, T connected together by the projection10, may be bent on the creased lines 13, 14,15, 16 into hollow, tubularform and have its ends closed and securely locked as follows: Its Hap Wis tirst bent inwardly over the end of the tubular body, followed by theopposite flap N, or vice versa which tlaps are thus respectivelydisposed at right angles to the sides F, S, as in Fig. 5, andV will, ifprovided with angular edges 11, 12, present an opening as 31. If now theprojecting wings 2,14V are bent inwardly upon the extension 3 and saidextension 3 be bent on the line 24 at right angles to the flap E andsaid flap E be bent on the 1 line 19 over the flaps N, W, the saidextension and its wings 2, 4 may be freely entered through the recess31, as in Figs. 4 and 5, and thus be entered within the box until theHap E lies snugly upon the flaps WV, N, as in Fig. 7, whereupon the saidWings 2, 4 from their elasticity or tendency to open, will, being nolonger obstructed by the angular edges 11, 12 of the flaps N, WV, springinwardly underneath the Hap N and respectively be projected toward thesides F, S of the body ot' the box as in Fig. 6, with their edges closeto the inner surface ot the flap YV (see Fig. 7),and thus formobstructive bearings resting against or engaging with the composite endof the box made up of the iaps W, N, E, and in such relation acting as alock wholly within the box that prevents said flap E from being detachedwithout tearing some of the component parts of the closed end of thebox, and which flap E consequently securely holds the flaps N, W inplace, while the box end presents a smoot-h, unbroken su rtace. In likemanner the opposite end of the box will be closed and locked byvasimilar manipulation of its iiaps, L, C, O, it' the latter is providedwith an extension constructed like 3 and provided with like wings 2, 4,which box when thus closed and fastened forms a structure securelylocking its contents within it and that may not be opened byany ordinaryopening movement and which will successfully resist any opening strainexerted by its contents upon either end, and which is especially welladapted to contain and support for carriage a filled bottle or similarcontents, Without danger of the same being released by a separation otthe closing parts of the box ends. Thus is also obtained a packagehaving a smooth exterior and which may not be opened without injuringits contents or destroying its structure, thus providing what istantamount to a sealed package. Such a structure ot' the closing devicefor the bottom end omits the iap marked K, but it is practical toinclude such a fiap, as K, at bot-h ends of the box as will hereinafterappear.

If now We assume the blank shown in Fig.

y 1 to be severed on a line connecting the arrow points at the sides ofsaid iigure, the upper blank formed by this segregation will be IOO IIO

ige

united by the projection into tubular form and have its end closed bymanipulating its iaps N, E, W, extension 3 and its vwings 2,4, as justdescribed, and thus will be formed a box with an open end likea cup andprovided with a closed bottom, the component parts of which so lockthemselves together as to provide great carrying strength and thusprovide a receptaclefor heavy contents, as screws, cartridges, and thelike, which may be transported without danger of loss from disengagementof the looked parts forming the bottom.

it may now be remarked that although advantageous the angular structureof the edges ll, l2 of the flaps N, W that provide a recess Bi for theconvenient entrance of theV exten- 'sion 3 and their wings 2, 4, neednot exist,

since these edges 1l, l2 need only be cut away or'trimmed sufficientlyon their edges which are to be passed by the extension 3 to accommodatemerely the thickness of the extension 3, for the reason that the frontside'i may be sprung or bowed sutciently to admit the entrance of thewings 2, i without the provision of such recess 31.

In segregating the structure of blank shown in Fig. 1, the bottom blankthus formed will be united in tubular form by the projection 10. ln thisconstruction of blank and box made therefrom, the extension that is uponthe fiap O has its wings 5, 7 formed out of materiabthat extends to thewidth of the ap O only, and in this'case, since the end will be formedby closing down the flaps L, C, -K, O, in the order named, so that theywill all lie at right angles to the sides of the body of the box, itwill be apparent that the iiap K must be provided on its line 23 withLan entrance slot 4:0 for the extension 6 and its infolded wings 5, 7 topass through, see Fig. 9, said extension 6 and its wings 5, thus forminga tongue which 'enters through the slot 40, and beneath which said Wingswill spring outwardly under the flaps L, O, C, K, and thus formobstructive bearings in like manner as do the wings 2, 4, as is shown inFig. l0. It will now be apparent that a blank provided at both ends withaps L, O, C, K, an extension 6 and its wings 5, 7, will form a boxclosed at both ends in substantially the same way as is the box firstdescribed herein, and one especially adapted to the carriage of suchcontents as a filled bottle or like large and heavy material.

Such an internal fastening for a box end, in any of the forms shown,provides for the first time a means of closing and fastening, thatautomatically locks its parts together secure against any manipulationfor opening the same applied directly to the fastening means, or inother Words, provides a lock the holding elements of which are integralwith the tubular body of the box and which securesl the end closed bytheedges of the wings simply abutting against the dat surface of another ofits members. Therefore any modification of this linvention involving alock having this characteristic element is to be re.- garded as withinthe scope 0f this invention. Of course, a box embodying this inventionconsisting of a body open at one end asa cup may be closed by anyconstruction of cover, either one of solid construction or one made withpasted or other seams uniting it into proper form, or a duplication ofthe improved structures shown herein, may be made shallow enough toespecially adapt it as a cover. It will be apparent that a box ofso-called solid construction, that is, one not adapted to be knockeddown or folded flat may be provided with this improved lock.

While this improved fastening mayl not-be detachedby the fingerswithoutdestroying the box, a means for disengaging its locked members isprovided for by the making of a small hole as 60 through the sides ofthe box opposite to the projecting wings of the lock, through which aninstrument may be inserted to press back and release said wings so thatthe extension carrying them may be withdrawn. This may also be providedfor by tongues as 6l formed by scored or perforated lines that may bebroken by the finger to enable the same to be swung inward to edect thissame object.

l What is claimed isl. A box provided with a fixed part, and

`with a closing iiap having an extension ,which carries awing or wingsthat fold upon said extension so as to enter with it into the box andexpand or unfold Within the box to engage the fixed part and thus becomelocked against withdrawal, substantially as described.

2. A box provided `with a xed part and a closing ilap having anextension that carries a wing or wings which fold upon said extension soas to pass with it'ihrough a narrow recess or slit enter into the boxand there exp'and or unfold in position to engage the fixed part of thebox and thus become locked against Withdrawal, substantially asdescribed.

3. A box provided with a closing iap hinged at one edge thereto andhaving an extension attached toits opposite edge and provided with awing or wings which fold onto said extension, so that the extension andits wing or wings will enter within the body of the box parallel withits front wall, and then expand or unfold so as to engage the innermostend IOO flap and lock the parts closed, substantially as described.

4. A box provided with end flaps, one of which has an extension carryinga wing or wings that fold hat upon it, and thus adapt the same to beentered Within the box and said wing or Wings to expand or unfoldbeneath the flaps and thus lock the box closed, substantially asdescribed.

5. Abox, the outer end closing ilap of which is provided with aprojecting wing that may be folded so as to be entered into the box bodybeneath one of the other end flaps and then automatically unfold tochange its angle of relation to the said aps and abut against the sameso as to obstruct any withdrawal of the said outer Iiap,substantially asdescribed.

6. A box provided with two opposite side flaps and an outer closingflap, the latter having an extension carrying a Wing or Wings adapted tobe folded or laid in a plane parallel with one surface of the extension,and thus be rendered capable of entering between the edges of the sideflaps and the front side 0f the boxwhereby said wing or wings will moveinwardly and expand so as to engage beneath al1 the end liaps and lockthe whole in place, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the box body, its outermost end closing Hap, andan extension thereof provided with afoldingwingor wings' adapted to beentered into and to expand within the box body,of side flaps whose edgesadjacent to the lock entering side of the box are cut away to facilitatethe passage of said Wing or Wings, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a box provided with a securing lock whichconsists of an outer flap having a projecting part carrying a foldingwing or wings, that are entered within the box body and there expandedor unfolded underneath an end iiap so asto prevent the Withdrawal ofsaid outer iiap, the side or sides of the box provided with a holethrough which said Wing or Wings may be engaged and moved into a pianethat will withdrawal of said outer flap, of a side or f sides providedwith a hole temporarily closed by a tongue the edges of which arenormally joined thereto and which may be detachedby pressure to act as alever for pressing a wing into a plane that will admit of its beingdetached to open the box, substantially as described.

10. A blank for the formation of a box, consisting of a sheet of paperor similar material cnt and incised as shown so as to provide sides F,A, S, T, lap 10, flaps N, E, W, and extension 3 and wings 2,4,wherebysaid parts may be folded into box form and the end thereof lmay beclosed and locked, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my'hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ALBERT R. HIBSON.

Witnesses S. G. PATERSON, WM. J. BONNER.

